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"Taking one's chances is like taking a bath, because sometimes, you end up feeling comfortable and warm, and sometimes, there is something terrible lurking around that you cannot see until it is too late, and you can do nothing else but scream and cling to a plastic duck." -Lemony Snicket The Slippery Slope

Cyr focuses on his drink idly drawing with his finger on the table. He murmurs few prayers and in between drones. It is very quiet and only Rocco gets anything from it. It last for a few minutes and he quietly asks jsut as ghostly hand appears above the table:"Would talking to Rocco be beneficia for both of usl? Would adventuring with him be more beneficial?"

The hand stops for a moment and then points toward Rocco's weapons.

ooc: out of time, fill in later

"Well, I'd say talking to you would be less beneficial then adventuring with you. Since we'd be talking while on the road and potentialy it pays better, I'd say The Fate is certain."

Rocco watches deva perform the ritual with little interest unti the hand appears and he hears the question(s?)

"I'm just remembering and if you cannot respect that find another table. I don't mind having a company, but at this moment, I'd prefer not to talk. Yes, I would like a job, one must eat while waiting for friends, but as you can see, job is fairly random thing here. Now, either be quiet or go somewhere else."

"So. . . um. . . what about your people? Are you from here originally?"

Papolstaanas is not normally inclined to talk about his family, but the drink in him loosens his tongue. “My people,” he says musingly, and his voice takes on a sardonic tone. “My people are from Bacarte. Well, Mother isn’t from there originally, but they all live there now, and the place is surely much the worse for it... I just came here today. Mother... insists that I find a new profession.” Papolstaanas orders another drink, non-alcoholic this time. He settles on a cup of hot tea.

“She’s the one who gave me that book,” he continues, his tone getting even drier. Steam from the cup drifts over his face. “Hoped it would keep me virtuous in a sea of depravity, or something.”

Papolstaanas is not normally inclined to talk about his family, but the drink in him loosens his tongue. “My people,” he says musingly, and his voice takes on a sardonic tone. “My people are from Bacarte. Well, Mother isn’t from there originally, but they all live there now, and the place is surely much the worse for it... I just came here today. Mother... insists that I find a new profession.” Papolstaanas orders another drink, non-alcoholic this time. He settles on a cup of hot tea.

Kaeysari looks over Papolstaanas again and begins to smile.

Originally Posted by Mewness

“She’s the one who gave me that book,” he continues, his tone getting even drier. Steam from the cup drifts over his face. “Hoped it would keep me virtuous in a sea of depravity, or something.”

She finally notices the price tag on his backpack and begins to laugh gently, but uncontrollably.

"I'm sorry... no really... When you first... um... so you're just starting out at this? I... I took you for some hardened mercenary. I didn't think anybody else would dare to wear fringes like that." She finally manages to get a hold of herself. "Again, I apologize. I don't mean to laugh at you. I remember how I was when I first joined up. I was terrified and at the same time I thought I was tougher than anyone else in the world. I probably would have gone around insulting strangers too if I didn't have old Orosius around. He always watched out for the recruits. Put us through hell, though."

She finally notices the price tag on his backpack and begins to laugh gently, but uncontrollably.

"I'm sorry... no really... When you first... um... so you're just starting out at this? I... I took you for some hardened mercenary. I didn't think anybody else would dare to wear fringes like that." She finally manages to get a hold of herself. "Again, I apologize. I don't mean to laugh at you. I remember how I was when I first joined up. I was terrified and at the same time I thought I was tougher than anyone else in the world. I probably would have gone around insulting strangers too if I didn't have old Orosius around. He always watched out for the recruits. Put us through hell, though."

When Kaeysari begins to laugh, Papolstaanas does also, thinking that she is laughing at his remark about the book's being meant to keep him virtuous (and its doing, clearly, a very poor job indeed). When he realizes that she is in fact laughing at him, he first becomes embarrassed, then highly agitated. "I don't go around insulting strangers!" he says sharply, slamming his teacup down on the table. "Not regularly!" Unfortunately, the petulance of his tone and his gestures only make him look more comical, like a child desperately trying to correct an adult who is only pretending to be mistaken.

ooc

Don't make me try to figure out Papolstaanas's age. I have no idea how long kobolds take to mature.

After the minstrel calls for stories, Chaku looks around, waiting for someone to take lead in this. After a few minutes, it seems that all the others are too lost in their own thoughts and conversations to join in with the bards game. The large man thinks for a moment and a wry grin crosses his face. Stepping away from the wall, he slowly walks over near the bard, taking the time to remove his travelling cloak, revealing his grey wolfhide armor and many scarred arms. Drapping the claok over the back of a chair, he nods to the bard.

I will share with you a story told to me by a priest, and it was told to him during his initial lessons after failing to assist his brothers and instead seek the glory for himself, state the barbarian is a low, rumbling bass.

In the beginning, the world was shapeless and without form. Then the Gods moved across the world and created the Islands, and he filled the Islands with villains to be defeated, challenges to be met, and magics to be done, and they saw that it was good.

Villains, challenges and magics will soon lose their appeal if you have nobody to share them with, so the Gods next brought forth their 4 children, Wizard, Rogue, Fighter and Cleric.

To Wizard, they gave great strength but a jaw of glass. To Rogue, they gave great strength and great skill, but a short reach so he would not be over mighty. To Fighter, they gave great toughness but made him slow and short of reach.

To Cleric, they gave the greatest gifts, giving her great speed, great reach, much strength, and the ability to avoid harm. Then the Gods spoke to Cleric saying, "We have given you these gifts so that you may watch over the others for that one keeps dying, that one has been running around in circles for ages now, and those two have been fighting the same motionless minion for 10 minutes." Cleric looked over those she was tasked to protect and replied to the Gods saying, "Do I have to?". The Gods were angered and thundered a curse upon Cleric for her impudence, "While you have a great many gifts, the greatest shall be of more use to others than they are to you!" And so it is to this day that the children of Cleric have many gifts they cannot use alone so that they, from time to time, "have to".

His tale done, he looks to see if any others have taken to listening, eager to see if anyone else will follow suit with a story of their own.

"Well told Master Goliath!" Jynxx exclaims. "Such words are true, and such stories have more than the apparent meaning. From your story I take that those with the greatest power are the ones that help others. Such words are very true. For where would we all be without help?

Chaku slowly grins as the bard praises his tale and the moral lesson it shares. As no one else has stepped forward to enthrall the patrons with tales of their own, the goliath mental scores himself the victor of this storytelling competition.

If you wish, I can share more tales of lessons learned of similar nature? he asks the bard, as the silence in the tavern begins to stretch beyond normal levels.

As silence stretches, Rocco speaks, his grave voice clear in the silence.

"I have a tale, of the land cursed, above and under ground, of hubris causing the downfall. Here is the story of Deep Lake clan of dwarves under the land of Valhyr.

There was a clan that lived under the mountain on the shores of great underground lake before the time of Einherjar. They mined, traded, even fished and lived in their citadel for time untold. Attacks from denizes of the dark were normal, but evil often creeps within if one keeps eyes only on outside."